Tuesday, August 25, 2009

We’ve got a new take on food straight from our Indian friend Mayur. Here is some information regarding etiquette with food in India. Traditional Indian dishes to follow in another post!

1. GET BOTTLED WATER. Treat India like Mexico – don’t drink the water. You will absolutely be violently stomach sick for a few days if you drink Indian tap water. You can boil water to get the bacteria and viruses out and then drink it. This is really important – it’s easy to slip up and chug some water after you sit down somewhere since it’s usually so hot. Make sure you always have water on you. Eating in a restaurant is fine since the bacteria is cooked off with boiling the water– but if you have a cold dish, ask your waiter/waitress/host if boiled water was used – don’t feel ashamed, this is really important.

2. You will be asked OVER AND OVER AGAIN if you would like more food. It is important to stay patient (Indians are very non-confrontational and getting frustrated looks really bad) and politely refuse – to make sure you are not asked to eat more, leave a little bit of food on your plate, that usually stops people from asking if you want more food.

3. Generally you eat with your right hand and right hand only – try it, it’s fun, don’t be weird about this, it shows a lack of respect for the culture/religion…but if you are having trouble, politely ask for a spoon or fork, and nobody will be angry about it – even if using utensils, use only your right hand

6. Indian food is notoriously spicy – I think black pepper was invented in India or something. But, there is a huge, huge variety of foods, from very spicy to incredibly sweet and buttery.

7. There is not a lot of coffee, but there is a ton of tea – a spicy mix called “Chai” – people have this all day, everyday, it’s pretty much equivalent to the coffee craze in the US (morning, afternoon, evening, before meals, after meals…seriously, whenever).

8. Breakfasts are generally light, lunches and dinners are big, full-on meals – Indians usually start their days pretty late to American standards, even in business people don’t get into the office until 9 or 10. Lunch is late and dinners are generally after 8 or 9 pm.

Keep these important tips in mind when traveling to India, they will help you respect the culture, embody the culture and increase your knowledge of Indian culture. Again, a special thank you to Mayur Aras for all of his tips. Who better to offer advise than someone from the culture about which you are trying learn?

What are some good restaurants in India that we can include in our next post about Indian food? Your tips can help other fellow travelers!

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